UTSA Endowed and Named Chairs and Professorships   Profiles   Dee Howard Memorial Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering
UTSA Endowed and Named Chairs and Professorships
Christopher Combs, Ph.D.
Dee Howard Memorial Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering
The Dee Howard Memorial Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering was created in 2013 by a gift from Dee Ann Bridges and Lonne Dean Howard in memory of their father, Dee Howard. In respect to Dee Howard’s profession as an inventor and aviation expert, funds for the fellowship are to be used for aerospace related mechanical engineering activities.

Christopher Combs, Ph.D.

Dee Howard Memorial Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering

Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Christopher Combs' primary area of research interest is in the development and application of non-intrusive diagnostic techniques for compressible flows and he also has extensive experience in investigations of hypersonic boundary layer and SWBLI flow physics. Combs is active with AIAA, ASME, and APS and is a member of the AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement Technology Technical Committee. 

Combs’ research group explores high-speed aerodynamic phenomena using cutting-edge optical diagnostic experimental techniques, image processing, and data analysis. The group makes measurements in supersonic, hypersonic, and reacting flows with broad applications in aerospace, with specific relevance to jet aircraft, air-breathing propulsion, and space access.  

With experience partnering with NASA, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and DARPA, the group is working to push the state-of-the-art in aerothermodynamics and make the next generation of high-speed systems a reality. 

Prior to joining UTSA in 2018, Combs worked as a Research Assistant Professor at The University of Tennessee Space Institute.